


Of a Feather

by SilverLynxx



Category: The Greatest Showman (2017)
Genre: Canon Divergence, Gen, M/M, Wings, wing!fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-11
Updated: 2018-02-11
Packaged: 2019-03-16 19:01:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 312
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13642515
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilverLynxx/pseuds/SilverLynxx
Summary: Phineas falls after the fire. Phillip promises he'll soar again.





	Of a Feather

**Author's Note:**

> **unedited**  
> 
> 
> So this is just a tiny snippet I was inspired to write after a discussion about wing!fics, and [@TheCanary](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheCanary) mentioned this amazing trope where the more people love you, the better the condition of your wings.
> 
> sO I bARlYleD EveRyWhERe
> 
>  
> 
> [Read on Tumblr](http://silverlynxx.tumblr.com/post/170754962850/of-a-feather)  
> 

Phillip finds Barnum the evening after the fire is extinguished, standing among the still smoking rubble. He’s almost an unrecognisable figure; face blackened with soot, his shoulders curved with the newfound weight of loss. And his wings, the stunning plumage that once gleamed in greens and blues and honey shades, full of life and love and brilliance, are significantly dull, loosely pinned to his back.

Phillip comes up beside him, head bandaged and his own wings slightly singed, but alive, and grateful for the risk Barnum had taken, hauling him from the fire.

“I’m sorry,” Barnum whispers into the silence, surprising him.

Phillip quirks an eyebrow but doesn’t immediately respond, following the man’s gaze to the scorched legacy at their feet.

“I should never have left. You were right. I was blind…and now everything’s gone,” the defeat in his voice is unbearable. Phillip finally looks at him, admiring the man’s profile, still radiant despite it all.

“I forgive you.” He meets Phineas’ stunned gaze with his own level stare, the older man momentarily speechless.

“How…after everything I’ve done, I abandoned them, I left _you_ , after everything,” he shakes his head, lips curling in a smile devoid of humour. “How can you ever forgive me?”

“You came back.”

He smiles, warmed by the emotions that flick across Phineas’ face at a rapid pace, the open sincerity of his surprise, his appreciation, and the _devotion_. Phineas had learnt his lesson, he’d flown too close to the sun, but Phillip – and his family – were there to catch him.

Phillip reaches out, brushing his knuckles down the stunning peacock plumage, the smallest of luster returning, growing; promising those stunning wings will flourish again. Phillip would make sure they did; even if it meant devoting every drop of love in his heart to the man to ensure it.

“Not all is lost, Phin,”

Phineas smiles.


End file.
